Eye on dalit votes, Maharashtra gets mill land for Ambedkar memorial

MUMBAI: With its eyes on the upcoming civic polls in several cities, the state government barreled through an agreement to transfer 12 acres of land in Indu Mill at Dadar to build a memorial for dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, an issue that has been hanging fire for more than a decade. A tripartite agreement between the Union textiles ministry, the Maharashtra government and the National Textile Corporation, which owns the land, was signed on Sunday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The land earmarked for the memorial sits next to Chaityabhoomi, where the last rites of Dr Ambedkar were performed. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who was present, got a promise from Modi to attend the bhoomi pujan ceremony. The state government had earlier assured that it will do the bhoomi pujan on April 14, the birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar, but Modi will be on a tour to Germany on that date, and the ceremony will be held only after he returns. A beautiful memorial will be constructed on the land, a statement from the prime minister’s office said. In 2013, the National Coastal Zone Management Authority had agreed to a proposal to modify the coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms to facilitate building the memorial. The state government’s quick action on the memorial land is seen as an attempt to tap dalit votes and bring them closer to Mahayuti, the grand alliance of saffron parties in the state. About a fifth of the state’s population of 11 crore are dalits. Their votes will be crucial in elections to Aurangabad and Navi Mumbai civic bodies that are scheduled for later this month, as well as in elections to Nagpur, Mumbai, Pune and Amaravati civic bodies that will be held in the next two years. A faction of the RPI, which represents dalit votes, is already with the Mahayuti, and the memorial will give credibility to the alliance’s social empowerment agenda, and expand and cement dalit support. The Congress-NCP government that ruled Maharashtra for more than a decade could not fulfil its promise to build a memorial for Dr Ambedkar, which had contributed to an erosion of dalit votes. The Congress’s national leadership has already announced plans for an year-long celebration of the 125th anniversary of Dr Ambedkar in an attempt to win back these votes. Two days back, Congress Mumbai unit chief and former MP Sanjay Nirupam threatened to perform bhoomi pujan at the proposed memorial site. On December 6, 2011, a mob led by Anandraj Ambedkar, Babasaheb’s grandson, had forcibly took over Indu Mills for about 22 days. They left after the then UPA-led central government gave an assurance that the land would be allotted for a memorial for Dr Ambedkar. The UPA government planned to amend existing laws to transfer the land but ensure its ownership remained with the NTC. The transfer never occurred. The agreement signed on Sunday transfers the ownership of the land to the state government, once the formalities are completed. “A three-member committee has been formed under a deputy secretary of the central government to decide on the remuneration of the land and complete the other formalities,” sources said. Anandraj welcomed the agreement. “I congratulate prime ministeer Modi and chief minister Fadnavis and expect that the work would start as soon as possible. The government should build a statue of Babasaheb in the memorial which should be symbol of equality. As much of the 12 acre-plot should be kept as an open, green landscape where Ambedkar followers can congregate on December 6, his death anniversary.” He called the land transfer agreement an eyewash. “The previous Congress government too had entered into a tripartite agreement and the bill is now pending with the Rajya Sabha. So the BJP government has not moved ahead,” he said.